Hong Kong Apartment: 344 square feet. 24 Configurations.

We would be remiss to not sing the praises of architect Gary Chang’s “Domestic Transformer” Hong Kong apartment–probably the world’s best known transforming apartment. Its ingenious design produces function and a sense of space totally inconsistent with its tiny footprint.

The back-story is interesting too. Chang has lived in the apartment since he was 14; at that time, him, his 3 sister, 2 parents and a boarder all occupied the tiny space. That’s about 50 sq ft/person. Roughly 1/20th the space Americans currently use!

In 1988, he bought the apartment from his parents.This last renovation–1 of 4–was completed in 2008. The apartment has become an idea lab for finding efficient uses of space–a serious issue for Hong Kong, whose already ultra-dense landscape has taken on 400k more residents in the last 10 years.

One of our favorite touches is the guest bed above the soaking tub. With odd pairings like these, Chang shows what’s possible when creative use of space trumps conventional thinking.